To lessen the financial burden on students taking summer courses, UT offers summer tuition at a reduced rate. While this is helpful, the University lacks a more accommodating way to pay for these classes. For summer students to be able to opt into payment plans, their first payment must be at least $1,500 for Texas residents or $5,000 for non-residents. These payment plans, however, can be modified on a case-by-case basis that requires the student to reach out to Texas One Stop and explain their circumstances.
This system is a hindrance for students who are trying to take advantage of reduced tuition, as it prevents the University from fully reducing the financial burden. UT should automatically allow students to split payments for summer tuition, regardless of factors like payment methods and total tuition amount.
While UT already offers students the chance to make a lower installment by calling Texas One Stop, it’s redundant to make this work on a case-by-case basis. This system is a waste of time for both students and One Stop employees. The wait time to contact One Stop can be very long, and it would be much more efficient if students’ payment plans were automatically generated.
“I registered for two summer classes, … which (is) $1,000, to take advantage of the reduced summer tuition. … I have divorced parents, so I would have to split the bill in two, … but I kept seeing that it wouldn’t let me,” environmental engineering junior Paulina Perez said. “I had to call One Stop, and they said it was a wait time of two, three hours. … One parent ended up having to pay the full bill and then (have the other) transfer money. … Then (I) got a call back from One Stop two, three hours later, saying that they would be able to do the split payment (on) a case-by-case basis.”
Every student should have the ability to split payments, no questions asked. Not every student has hundreds or thousands of dollars to spend all at once, on one card.
It’s commendable that UT offers high-demand classes starting at $500 for Texas residents and $2,000 for non-residents, but that doesn’t do much good when students have to pay for them upfront. Many students may not take a large course load over the summer, so it’s common for the tuition total to fall short of the minimum installment payment requirement. If UT wants to make summer courses easily accessible, then removing a minimum installment payment would help them follow through on that.
“Not a lot of people have $1,000 on one card at any given time, so it would just make sense for UT to (automatically) allow (payments for any total amount) … I think it would be very beneficial, that way students don’t have to go through wait times with One Stop,” Perez said.
Despite multiple interview requests, the Office of the Provost was not available to comment prior to the publication of this article.
Paying for summer tuition should be easier in every area — whether it be splitting the payment between two different cards or two different dates. Removing these requirements and automatically generating payment plans will create a more streamlined process for students taking summer courses.
Ponce is a journalism sophomore from Laredo, Texas.
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